Ticketing Startup SeatGeek Raises $1.65M To Embrace Mobile And More

SeatGeek, the ticketing startup that launched at TechCrunch50 three years ago, has raised $1.65 million in new funding. The round was disclosed in an SEC filing, and co-founder Jack Groetzinger just confirmed it.

The company offers a ticket search engine that helps users find the best deals across multiple sites. It’s probably best-known as a site for sporting tickets, but it has also been growing its efforts around live music. Groetzinger says the company is working to become more comprehensive — not just selling tickets, but also providing related services around live events, like a personalized calendar.

In addition, Groetzinger says that after ignoring mobile for the past three years, SeatGeek is “going to be diving directly into the mobile world” — specifically by building “a really great mobile app.” And while SeatGeek has mostly grown organically, he says the company is ready to start experimenting with paid marketing.

SeatGeek previously raised $2.12 million, according to CrunchBase, but there have also been funding rounds of undisclosed size.The funding was led by new investor Mousse Partners, while Red Swan Ventures, plus another new investor that SeatGeek isn’t ready to disclose yet, also participated. (I’ll update this post when the mystery investor is announced.) The company’s previous backers, who include Founder Collective and NYC Seed, invested in the round as well.

The company considered raising a larger Series B, Groetzinger says, but decided to go with a smaller round because it didn’t need the money: “If someone gave us $10 million and dropped it into a bank account, it would just sit there.” However, he says there’s a “50-50” chance that the company will raise that larger round in the future — for example, if the paid marketing efforts pay off, then it may make sense to raise more money to invest more heavily in those campaigns.